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Papua New Guinea: Volcanic Activity - Office of the Resident Coordinator Flash Update No. 2 (As of 28 June 2019)

Страны
Папуа-Новая Гвинея
Источники
UNCT PNG
Дата публикации

This update is produced by Office of the Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 18:00 27 June to 18:00 on 28 June 2019 (GMT +10). The next report will be issued if there are new developments or significant changes in the situation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• On 26 June, the Ulawun volcano in East New Britain erupted.

• Approximately 11,000 people have evacuated to at least 11 care centre sites in West and East New Britain.

• West New Britain is establishing two formal care centres, one in Barema and the other in Bagada, East Nakanai, to relocate those displaced in other care centre sites.

• Food and other relief items are being distributed by provincial teams, but significant gaps remain.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Approximately 10,620 people have congregated in at least ten care centre sites, according to local-level government authorities in Bialla, West New Britain. Another 427 people are in a single care centre in East New Britain. No casualties have been reported.

Ashfall has been observed across Talesea District, and down to Kimbe. The authorities in West New Britain have declared a provincial state of emergency and have activated their emergency response plan for Mt. Ulawun, including the establishment of a forward base in Bialla. All communities within a 20-kilometre radius of the volcano were instructed to relocate to designated safe zones.

Hoskins airport was opened at 17:00 today by the airport authority, National Airports Corporation. It is expected that Air Niugini flights will resume over the weekend pending and air quality assessment.

RESPONSE

A second team of West New Britain (WNB) provincial disaster responders, including IOM, the Salvation Army, and the PNG Red Cross, arrived in Bialla on the evening of 27 June to distribute food and other relief items. A team from the Governor’s office also arrived in Bialla to distribute food. No details are available on the food items distributed.

The WNB coordinating team plans to establish two formal care centres, one in Barema, near Kabaya, and the other in Bagada, East Nakanai to consolidate the evacuees in the ten care centres. It has prepared 287 tarpaulins for the two centres. Additionally, the Red Cross have distributed 40 tarpaulins, 400 blankets, 592 water containers, 300 mosquito nets, and 10 hygiene kits. The Red cross requires access to additional stockpiles in its Madang warehouse and to ship them by barge to Kimbe, the nearest port. The East New Britain provincial disaster authority is preparing to deploy a team including the Department of Health, Technical Services, Red Cross and IOM, to travel to Toki with food rations and to conduct an assessment.

Provincial health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are coordinating with the WNB disaster management committee to assess the health situation of evacuees and to relocate medical supplies to the Bialla forward base. They have treated and referred 13 patients for the further care.

On 29 June, they plan to resume a vaccination campaign focusing on children under 5 who have not received the oral poliovirus or measles-rubella vaccines in seven previously identified care centres in Barema, Barema New Clearing, Soi, Quasa, Pale, Kabaya Community and Kabaya Sector 9.

They also plan to establish health referral posts in Soi and Barema,
The National Disaster Centre (NDC) has mobilised a helicopter to support assessments in East and West New Britain and to support logistics. The NDC has completed a logistics capacity assessment, identifying covered and open storage facilities in Kimbe port, and is looking for additional warehousing.

The Shelter/CCCM/NFI Cluster received a formal request from the NDC to manage the displaced persons in the care centres and facilitate their eventual return home, including conducting a survey using its displacement tracking matrix.

An ad hoc meeting of the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group was held on 28 June to assess the in-country capacities of clusters to respond to any Government request for assistance. There has not been any further request for assistance at this time.